5 Essential Beauty Tools

Hi All,

The holidays are coming up and if your family is like mine, they are asking for your list.

Brushes can get a little pricy, so why not ask for them as gifts!

Here are 5 brushes anyone that wears makeup should have in their possession.

Face:

http://www.sephora.com/beautyblender-P228913?skuId=1151869

Beauty Blender

Use when wet to blend in liquid foundation, concealer, liquid highlighter... basically flawlessly blends in any liquid product. I personally dab on my foundation then blend it out with this baby using the rounded end. Then I flip it and blend out my under eye concealer with the pointy end. Because you use it wet, you have better control over how much product goes on your face. When the liquid makeup combines with the moisture in the sponge it dilutes it slightly, allowing less product to go further. You can also build coverage in the areas you want to be more covered up.

http://www.sigmabeauty.com/Large_Powder_F30_p/f30.htm

Large powder brush

... need I say more? I like to set the oily areas of my face with a powder, just in case. The large powder brush picks up enough product to make a difference, but not so much you look caked. Can be used for face powder, blush, bronzer, luminizer etc. You can even pinch the bristles together to contour. Very versatile, very necessary.

Eyes:

http://www.coastalscents.com/brushes/eyeshadow-brushes/br-250.html

Pro Blending Fluff

The most versatile brush you will ever own for your eyes. You can use it to sweep an all over color over your lid. Or for precise blending in the crease. This is comparable to the brushes at MAC or Sigma, but its less then $5.

MUFE medium precision smudger blending brush.

http://www.sephora.com/212-medium-precision-smudger-brush-P382439?skuId=1536721

I love to use this to smudge color under my bottom lashes and blend out the color to give my bottom lashes definition with out looking too heavy. It can also be used to apply highlight to the inner corner of the eye. Or even to blend darker colors into the outer V of the eyelids.

Finally:

Cuticle scissors.

Can be found at any local drugstore.

These may not be a "brush" but they will be the most handy thing to keep in your beauty area. I use mine to trim my eyebrows, scraggly hairs from my makeup brushes, split ends, tags from new clothes... and sometimes my cuticles too. Tweezers are just as important, but don't have as many uses.

Those would be my top 5 basic beauty must have tools. It was a lot harder to decide what my top tools would be then I thought. Each brush has a different purpose and different ways they can be utilized. These I figure are the most basic and versatile of the brushes I have. Is there anything you would add to this list?

Lots of love

Alyssa

A Little Beauty Haul

Okay, I'm admitting that I am a terrible blogger... 

It seems that every time I start a new post it begins with "so it's been awhile".

Sometimes I just feel that I don't have anything new or revolutionary to talk about. Nothing that is important enough to share with the world.

But all of that aside I figured I could spare some time to share some of my recent purchases from Sephora.

Once a year Sephora has a 20% off code that they share with their VIB's (Very Important Beauty insider) so I decided to splurge a little and try out some products I've wanted but seem to always talk myself out of.

First being MUFE Mat Velvet +

I have combination skin that is relatively sensitive to new products. My forehead nose and chin are pretty oily and my cheeks and jawline tend to be more dry... Unfortunately, all areas are acne prone. I always use MUFE HD primer in 0 under any foundation I use (I am a firm believer in primers). I am excited to try this because it has coverage enough to cover any breakouts or dark marks I have, but light enough to look natural and not overdone. I have only ever used drugstore foundation before, I have high hopes that this formulation will help with preventing breakouts and will be kind to my sensitive skin.

Next is a product I've used before and absolutely love.

Origins is a brand I have come to adore. It is pretty affordable, all natural, no parabens and actually deliver on the claims they make about their products. Their VitaZing energy boosting moisturizer is wonderful. It is similar to bb creams, without the weight of feeling like I have put makeup on. It is a white moisturizer with small beads that deliver a slight glow of color to the skin. I like to wear this by itself to give my skin a healthy glow in the morning, rather than look pale, sickly and like I just woke up. When I wear makeup over it I've noticed that I look glow-y if not down right radiant. As if I just returned from a two week vacation spent on some remote beach. 

St Tropez Bronzing mousse is a product I cannot rave enough about.

LOVE... love. love. love this product, I've talked about it before and it is still true today. I avoid tanning beds like the plague, but I also like to avoid looking like a sickly ghost in the winter. St Tropez is my best friend when my summer tan fades away. It is the only self tanner I will use. I always apply it with the mitt that can by purchased along side it. So orange hands don't give me away. It is so easy to apply and because it is a mousse it is streak free as well.

This was my real splurge lately.

Normally, I stick to drugstore mascara. But I just find that they dry out quickly and there isn't very much product in their brightly colored tubes. In the past I have used Laura Mercier Full Blown Volume building mascara, which is still a personal favorite. I wanted to try out the product Sephora claims is a "cult favorite of over 10 years", you have to admit that has its appeal. I don't typically treat myself to luxury brands. I believe you are usually buying the name more so than the actual product.

Lastly, I have (relatively) recently purchased a new face lotion that works wonders.

I had a very bad breakout a month or so ago and it left in its wake the terrible aftermath of dark marks. I wandered into LUSH hoping the knowledgeable staff would be able to help me find a miracle, and I was not let down. I have always loved their face masks and try a new one every time I am there. This time I bought both Cosmetic Warrior and Catastrophe Cosmetic. When these are paired with Vanishing Cream, my skin has never cleared up so quickly. It normally takes a few weeks for acne flares to calm down and a few months for the dark marks to fade away. Cosmetic Warrior helped to make the breakouts calm down and disappear. Now I am using Catastrophe Cosmetic to keep any new breakouts at bay. I used vanishing cream along side each mask and I believe it has helped to prevent any new dark marks. The ones that I had already are almost gone and its only been 2-3 weeks.

Well, that's all for now.

I promise I will try to make my posts a more regular occurrence.

Lots of Love,

Alyssa

Egg Hair Mask

Well hello again,

Once again time got away from me and it has been awhile since my last post. School and work really finds a way to eat up all of my time.

 

Anyways, I wanted to tell you guys about a mask I have tried a few times over the past couple of weeks. It is a bit of a DIY sort of thing.

I have really dry and damaged hair from coloring it for too long. It is slow to grow, thin and fine... everything is working against me in my fight to grow my hair out. So I have decided to really take an effort in taking care of my hair. I have been taking my vitamins, avoiding using heat and using a very moisturizing conditioner followed by a hair serum.

Well, even all of that doesn't quite do the trick for me. Recently, I tried a home made hair mask made of two eggs beat into my normal deep conditioner, then letting the concoction soak into my hair and scalp for 20-30 minutes.

This is what it looks like all mixed in. You guys may want to use more since my hair is pretty thin. After soaking, I wash and dry as normal and my hair feels much better after the mask. It is smooth, the fly aways are calming down, even my split ends are trying to behave.

I try to use it 2-3 times a week. But I think I am going to cut it down to once a week if it becomes too much.

 

 

If anyone else has a great hair mask, by all means share it with me! haha

 Lots of Love,

Alyssa